I Did That Shit: My 2nd DEXA Scan

Putting on weight is not envied. In fact, many women go on diets, starve themselves mercilessly and engage in strenouos exercises, just to prevent that from happening. This of course is why I wasn’t shocked when the radiographer treaded carefully by asking me “Do you have any issues with weighing more than you do now?” before proceeding to tell me that I needed to put on weight if I had any chance at salvaging my muscles.

Dang! The dude was playing it safe. He had probably learned from experience that telling a woman she had to put on weight needed some tact and wisdom. If I wanted to be nosy and troublesome, I probably could have probed more. Ask him “Why do you feel the need to ask me that before stating the result? Does it matter what I want? Isn’t it your job to tell me the truth irrespective of how I feel or what I might prefer?” I can imagine his face going red with confusion written all over. “What have I gotten myself into?” he’d be thinking. Or maybe “Who’s this mad woman?” Who knows? Well, I digress.

Today isn’t about all the ways I imagine conversations could have gone and how I crack myself up making permutations. It’s about the fact that about six months ago, I had my first DEXA scan and yesterday, I had a repeat one to track my progress.

As you well know (if you’re an ardent reader of my blog), that scan showed I needed to build muscles. So, I did what any person who wants to be stronger as they grow older would do. I advised myself carefully and got to work.

The funny thing? It does seem that writing about my journey to getting stronger influenced quite a number of people. Someone actually got a standing desk after reading.

Uuuuuuh! I’m an influencer now I gasped! Unpopular. Not rich yet. But an influencer nonetheless. Hehehe.

Enough of my shenanigans, let’s talk about serious matters.

The Trip To The Radiologist

As I rode to the lab, I thought about what my results would look like. Would I have made progress? Would I have gained muscle? Would I have been trying to put on weight and just ended up increasing my body fat? That would be a big Ooof! And if that was the case, I already had a plan.

I’d return home, serve myself a disproportionate amount of jollof rice paired with fried plantain, and wash it down with some sugary drink. “Why?” you ask. “Why not?”. We only live once. And if my body won’t cooperate with me, maybe we’re doomed, so why not just help the doom progress?

Before the thought finished, I knew it was a bad plan. My mind was at it again. Going on rambles and making plans no one asked it for. Smh. I heave a sigh of relief. I had arrived. There it is. The office. I’m 10 minutes early. I have enough time. Time to think of a better plan just in case things go south.

The Results

It's my turn and an unfamiliar radiographer ushers me in. He isn't the one who did my first scan, and he isn't as bulked up either. In fact, he's very slender. He doesn't seem like he'd have any issues with me not gaining any muscle. He'd probably tell me he's also trying to gain some muscle and we're in this together.

He goes through the motions, gets my previous result on the screen, checks my current weight and says "Oh, you've gained weight. Exactly what we need. Now, let's see what that weight constitutes." I get on the table and the equipment moves to and fro for a few minutes, makes some noise, and the scan is over.

Moment of truth.

Wait, what? 136% of the weight gained was lean mass (muscle)? Huh??? So I didn't just gain weight as muscle, I lost fat at the same time? Body recomposition! I had heard a lot about that and how it’s not an easy thing to achieve and here I was staring at a screen that said I did that shit? I grinned from ear to ear. And then it occurred to me. Wait. Doesn’t this mean my body fat percentage also dropped?

Now, I’m super pumped. I wait impatiently for him to scroll down so I can see the new number. But dude was taking his time giving me accolades for gaining muscle and wanted to know what I did in the last few months to pull it off.

I'm sure you're curious too.

Tune in next week for Part 2. Yes, I'm wicked like that 🤪

PS. I still got home and ate a bowl of jollof rice and plantains. Hehehe

By the way, if my weekly posts have been helpful, made you smile, think or cringe on my behalf, you can now support them here ☕️